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FROM A TOY
One of my favorite new writers at Filmmaker is Graham Leggat, who contributes our "Game Engine" column. (Check out this issue's piece, in which Leggat takes filmmaker Derek Cianfrance for a spin test driving the upcoming Dr3ver videogame, which comes complete with a groundbreaking video editor. In addition to his column next issue, Leggat wrote a short report on the filmmaker Shannon Plumb (who, coincidentally, happens to be Cianfrance's wife). I just finished editing it when I got an email press release from the folks at Fountainhead Films, the company behind the feature Quatro Nozza. The company has just released a DVD by Plumb entitled Before Z which can be bought online at the website or, in an interesting marketing connection, at Colette in Paris. Says the release, "The half-hour Super 8 film includes twenty-six film sketches by Plumb, one for each letter of the alphabet. With her unique brand of slapstick humor, Plumb acts out words for every letter, as animations whimsically appear and disappear across the screen."
Fountainhead producer Frederic King says that he commissioned Plumb, who was three months pregnant at the time, to make the piece when he saw her work at the New Video Festival. "When I saw Shannon's Super 8 sketches at the New Video Festival at Lincoln Center, it hit a nerve. I was wowed by Shannon's inventiveness and comedic talent, and her films evoked a nostalgic feeling that I wanted to share with my twelve-year-old daughter. So I approached Shannon with the concept of creating a series of short films for children and parents to enjoy together. Something unique to the marketplace, something organic and very creative."
Time Out New York Kids described Before Z as an "utterly inspired, inexplicable mix of Buster Keaton and Gloria Swanson." The DVD sells for $15.99 and comes with "a coloring activity sheet, metallic stickers, and creative suggestions for moviemaking fun at home."
For those wanting something a bit more adult yet with their own childlike charm, check out Plumb's own website to see the artist's witty Super-8 shorts.
# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 6/4/2004 11:00:48 PM Comments (0)
The Yes Men, a feature documentary by Chris Smith, Dan Ollman and Sarah Price, forthcoming from MGM/US, follows a couple of anti-corporate activist-pranksters -- Andy and Mike -- as they impersonate WTO spokesmen at business conferences around the world.The Yes Men describe their mission as follows:
"Small-time criminals impersonate honest people in order to steal their money...
"Honest people impersonate big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else.
"The Yes Men have impersonated some of the world's most powerful criminals at conferences, on the Web, and on television, in order to correct their identities.
"They currently have hundreds of thousands of job openings. Sign up today!"
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 6/4/2004 02:13:38 PM Comments (0)
Independent Feature Project/NY has partnered with InStyle Magazine to present a series of independent films by first-time writer/directors outdoors on a 50-foot screen in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in conjunction with InStyles's 10th anniversary.Screenings begin at sundown (approx. 8:30 p.m.) and are free to the public:
June 8 - Garden State , written and directed by Zach Braff. A Fox Searchlight/Miramax release, opening theatrically July 30.
June 9 - Napoleon Dynamite, directed by Jared Hess; written by Jared Hess and
Jerusha Hess. An MTV Films/Paramount release, opening theatrically June 11.
June 10 - Danny Deckchair, written and directed by Jeff Balsmeyer. A Lions Gate Films release, opening theatrically August 11.
Additional information can be found at the Rockefeller Center Web site.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 6/4/2004 10:46:12 AM Comments (0)
BRUCE LaBLOG
Director Bruce LaBruce recently launched a blog on his Web site. In his most recent posting, entitled "Hey, Blogging is Fun!", he writes:"Doing a Blog is scary. Even though I've basically been a blogger in print for the last eleven years, it's still unnerving to write down your thoughts, feelings, and ideas for all to see on the WWW. I recently stopped doing my monthly and bi-weekly columns for Exclaim (fired after eleven years) and Eye Weekly (quit after seven years), respectively, so now I suppose I'm reduced to this: blabbering on and on on the internet about my pathetic little life while listening to Sister Janet Mead singing The Lord's Prayer on my i-tunes. I am starting to publish in a variety of other publications and on websites, but I guess this is the only place I will be able to truly vent my spleen for a while. To jump right in, here's a comment I posted recently on a site called Maisonneuve.org in response to an article a Canadian novelist wrote about my new movie The Raspberry Reich after she saw it at the Berlinale. I went off on her because I am sick up and fed of critics and real people complaining about the 'bad acting' in my movies. It's a porno movie, for chrissakes. With real porn actors. Get a grip. And I had them delivering lines like 'Don't you understand the fundamental dynamics of terrorist abduction?' and 'In an industrial society which confuses work and productivity, the necessity of producing has always been an enemy fo the desire to create.' Actually, for porn actors, I think they did pretty good. What do you expect? Shakespeare in the park?"
La Bruce's Raspberry Reich is currently making the rounds of this summer's gay and lesbian film festivals, including NewFest/New York, Outfest/Los Angeles, Frameline/San Francisco, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and the Seattle International Film Festival.
Also playing the queer fests is John Palmer's terrific second feature, Sugar, based on short stories by Bruce LaBruce.
LaBruce's Raspberry Reich, a German/Canadian co-production, was produced by Jurgen Bruning, who recently launched a new porn company called Wurstfilm. Bruning was previously a partner in Cazzo Films with Jorg Andreas, whose film Locked Up is also making the rounds of the gay fest circuit this summer.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 6/2/2004 11:45:34 AM Comments (1)
As reported in Variety today, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 has finally landed a domestic distribution deal. The film will be released June 25 through a joint venture between Lions Gate Films, IFC Films and the Weinstein brother's Fellowship Adventure Group, a shingle created specifically to handle the release of the film. Pay TV rights wil go through Showtime, Lions Gate's pay TV partner. DVD rights are still being hammered out.
"With Frodo (Harvey) and Sam (Bob) now in charge of the Fellowship, I welcome the addition of Lions Gate and IFC to our quest in bringing good family entertainment to the viewing public," said Moore.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 6/2/2004 10:12:16 AM Comments (0)
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